FULL MOON
by alaskanlover
Summary: this is a jacob wins story. doesnt start at the beginning because its like using the first part of the book with my ending instead. it really doesnt have harsh language, just some violence! this isnt really a love story
1. Chapter 1

Alice sat silently at the table, watching me without interest as I ate my unusually large breakfast, a whole bowl of flaky cereal with milk and two glasses of orange juice. I was surprisingly very hungry, usually I didn't eat much when Edward was gone. He had left the night before, promising that he would come home as soon as possible, but he was on a three day hunting trip; Carlisle was taking him and emmet to hunt grizzlies before they went into hibernation, it was hard to believe that it was fall already.

This summer had flown by, and everyday had been the same; wake up in the cool marble arms of Edward, go somewhere -anywhere- with Edward, and then go to bed only to find that Edward was waiting on my bed for me as I opened my bedroom door.

It always caught me off guard when I saw him, the pale skin of his forehead, slightly covered by a wisp of bronze hair, and his eyes, like pools of liquid, always a slightly different shade than the day before. This change was dramatic after he went hunting, when they would change from a deep almost-black, to a smooth amber color.

And the best part was that I was always happy now, and I had been carefully pointing out to Charlie that I had been hanging out with all of my other friends too. All of them except one, Jacob black.

He was a boy/werewolf, my protector/potential danger (according to Edward), and my friend/would be crush if Edward hadn't come back into the picture a while back and declared his eternal love for me, promising never to leave me again.

I hadn't seen Jacob in months, I wasn't allowed (according to Edward) because it, "isn't safe for you to be running around with a bunch of wolves, especially young ones. If I don't stop you and anything happens to you I could never forgive myself. I am still living with enough guilt, I cant let you out of my sight," he had pleaded with me one night after I questioned about visiting Jacob on the reserve.

Charlie kept telling me that I needed to call Jacob, I needed to go visit Jacob, I needed to hang out and study with Jacob like we used to, but I could never find the chance to do so without another speech from Edward on my safety and his 'sense of responsibility.' So I was happy, mostly.

**I just still had that tiny part of me that felt like there was small hole torn in my heart. A little piece was missing and I wanted it back, but to hold on to that one piece, I would destroy everything that I had fought for, everything that I loved**.

Alice watched me as recalled this summers repetitive events in my head, everyday the same routine, but each day I had something to count on, Edward would be there.

I wondered if I was making faces, because Alice looked puzzled, her head was tilted slightly, it looked like she was thinking. She realized that I was studying her expression and quickly brought a charming smile to her lips, but it didn't reach her eyes.

I faked a smile back, for her sake, but I it got me wondering what she might be trying to covering up.

I was finished eating so I threw my bowl and glass into the empty side of the sink to be washed later. Alice stood and followed as I clomped up the stairs to my bedroom to grab my jacket because, as always, it would probably rain and I really didn't want to get sick.

Alice still had a confused look on her face as she asked, "where are we going today 'bella'?" Of course when Edward was gone alice took up his post as Labrador retriever and followed me anywhere I went to " make sure that you don't do anything stupid while im away" Edward had reminded me before he had left.

So even when Edward was gone I couldn't go visit Jacob. There was no way to be perfectly happy without losing one side or the other, I would not lose Edward again, but I wasn't ready to let go of Jacob just yet. The fact that he made me happy when nothing else could made my heart hold onto him however it could.

_**It was like how velcro sticks to a fuzzy sweater, and even when someone tries to pull the Velcro away, some of the sweater fuzz comes with it, and is impossible to seperate**_. 'I really need to talk to jake' I told my self.

I ran through where I wanted to go for the day in my head, basically just reminding myself that I wasn't able to go to jake so I had nowhere else to go. I tried to think of an escape plan, but all of them ended in me being kidnapped by alice and taken to her house to play life-sized Barbie doll for the day, so I gave up on escape.

" 'bella' ?" alice patiently waited for me to respond, standing in my doorway as I sat on my bed with my jacket across my lap pondering. "I don't know about you, but I am going to drive to the theatre to catch a movie," I stated plainly. I wasn't really in the mood to sit and watch a movie, but I wasn't in the mood to be babysat either so it didn't make much difference what we did. Atleast in a movie theatre I would have something to do other than listen to the rain blow against my window.

"ok," she said hesitantly " what are we going to see?" I hadn't thought of that so I tried to picture the last advertisement id seen for a good movie, I think it had said it was a comedy, or was it an action movie? I couldn't remember, but the title had something to do with the a battle between brothers, or something along those lines.

"I think I know what I want to see, im just gonna check the list once we are there to make sure its still playing" I couldn't remember when I had seen that advertisement anyway… It could have been a month old.

" ok" she said, " but im driving"

Alice was quiet on the way to the theatre, biting on her lip, and every now and then glancing over at me, gauging my expression as if she thought I was about to jump ship or something, randomly try to escape. She seemed quite edgy.

Nothing bad had happened, I knew, because we had a truce that she would tell me if she saw anything happen to Edward or the others, or if anything or anyone that was potentially dangerous came near here or became a threat to our safety (not really 'our safety' because nothing could really hurt them, more like 'my safety' but it sounds less selfish when I word it that way).

Nothing was a real danger to the cullens, other than me-I always seem to be the reason for them being in dangerous situations, and then Edward blames himself for some crazy overprotective reason.

I trusted her word on that one, but I still couldn't pinpoint what could cause her act how she was.

I let my thoughts wander as I watched the small gentle rain drops that were hitting the windshield turn into big bullets of water that pounded against the roof as we sped up to her normal driving speed.

"Is the heat on in this thing?" I questioned as I realized that I was sweating profusely even though my jacket was off and I was in a t shirt.

" no," she replied quickly, "would you like it on?"

'of course her skin was so cold that she surely wouldn't notice how hot the car was getting,' I thought to myself.

"no, no," I said, "im actually really really warm." She looked at me with her eyebrows raised, and skeptical but worried at the same time. "Its only 50 degrees in here 'bella'" she stated as she glanced down at the temperature reading on her car guage so quickly that I barely noticed that her eyes had moved from my face. " you shouldn't be feeling warm"

"oh," I said confusedly, " I guess not, maybe its just in my head or something." I said trying to brush away the thought that maybe I was going crazy after all.

"no 'bella' look." Alice said, sounding as confused as I felt as she pointed to the neck of my shirt where the sweat had soaked through the material. I touched the wet cotton, frowning.

'I never sweat like this' I thought, 'not even in the arizona heat' "oh. Wow." I said, she could hear the shock in my voice, now I was honestly getting worried for myself.

'what if this is some odd condition where you go insane and sweat until you dehydrate even if its cold outside and…' but alice interrupted my train of panicked thoughts.

" I am going to take you back to your home straight away" she said, making it quite clear that it was not a question in any way. She pulled a u-turn in the middle of the road and sped back towards the house.

Alice pulled into the driveway at my house, right in Charlie's spot-I realized but didn't mention to her-but he wouldn't mind anyway, he loved alice. Alice's inhuman speed, and agility never ceased to amaze me. As soon as the car stopped moving she already had my door open and was ready to steady me if I felt wobbly on my way into the house.

I was still drenched in sweat by the time she set me gently onto the couch and offered to get me some ice water, which I gulped down generously with many thank yous.

I felt fine, nothing hurt, and the only difference from me on any other day was that I was sweating as if I had run a marathon (as if I could ever run a marathon or anything close- I FAIL at gym class).

Alice sat beside me on the couch, watching me to see if I was about to pass out or something, and the puzzled look was on her face again. It looked as if she was trying to think about something, but couldn't quite remember it. That's the look that mike gets in science class on the exams when he forgets to study the night before; **he knows the answer is in his head somewhere, but he just cant seem to find it** in all the jumble.

I held the cold glass of ice water against my face, the cold condensation on the outside of the glass felt nice, if Edward was here I would have just layed against him to be cooler but this was alice not Edward.

I rested my head back against the couch, trying to let my thoughts settle because they like to jump around in my head and confuse me, but just as I was trying to organize my scattered brain my stomach growled and alice laughed.

The golden tone of her laughter rung in my ears, if I didn't think of her as a sister I would be angry that she could have such a beautiful voice that I coudnt ever be compare to.

"being human is so inconvenient" she smiled and we both got up and walked to the kitchen. "no, you go rest," she said. Alice was so nice to me it was hard to believe that I deserved as much generocity as she gave me.

" I feel fine," I answered honestly, "just a little warm, and a lot hungry."

"time for lunch then," she said and I looked over at the clock. It was only 10 am. I had eaten breakfast just two hours before. Usually I eat my meals atleast four hours apart, and if it's a large meal, like my breakfast earlier that day, maybe even longer.

my growling stomach interrupted my thinking again. Its like my body tried to sabatoge itself every chance it got.

"what would you like me to make you?" alice asked, lately she had been monitoring my cooking and seemed to think that although I could make meals for Charlie and myself, that she could do better using a some cookbooks she had found.

"whatever you can make" I answered quickly, not wanting to make things too difficult on her, not that she would mind.

"ok then, cheff's choice," she grinned excitedly at a chance to try out her new cooking skills on me, but still- I could tell that the smile was only on the skin, underneath she wasn't worried about what she was making for lunch.

**I could tell that something was up, I just didn't know what.**

I watched jealously as alice leapt gracefully across the kitchen gathering the necessary supplies and ingredients, somehow finding everything quite quickly in my muddles kitchen.

The pots and pans didn't even clink as she set them on the counter. She could be so delicate, yet I knew she probably had more power in one finger than I did all over my body.

"Unfair advantages," I thought.

All alice had to do was ask and any man would easily do her bidding, she would never have a hard time getting us special backstage passes, or sold out tickets to a concert playing in half an hour (both things that she had eagerly suggested as late minute birthday presents my past birthday).

Even at simple tasks I was outshone; something as small as a thirty minute grocery run could be condensed into a minute or two.

**I could be like her; **_**flawless, beautiful, strong,**_ something more than just me. I was denied my perfect future: they wouldn't change me- unless, of course, I married Edward, officially becoming part of the family.

I hated commitments, and was nowhere near saying yes to getting married, besides mom would have been so disappointed if I didn't take my time to think things through.

I lingered in the doorway for a minute, thinking of those things, as Alice set a pot of water on the stove to boil and began skinning a few potatoes from the potato sack in the cupboard. She grabbed a steak that was thawing in the fridge and threw it in a pan with some marinade.

Alice did all of this at a normal, human pace, trying to do her best to impress me with her fine cooking, I bet.

I still felt warmer than I should have, so I grabbed a bag of frozen peas from the freezer and layed down on the couch, letting the cold veggies cool my forehead as I relaxed.


	2. Chapter 2

I opened my eyes, slightly dazed and confused. I was still laying on the couch but the bag of peas had slid over the edge and was laying on the old faded carpet.

I sat up slowly, closing my eyes as I felt the blood rush to my head. A cold hand instantly gripped my arm to steady me as I wobbled on the edge of the couch. The feeling passed quickly.

"bella?" alice asked hesitantly in a barely audible voice. i opened my eyes to see her smooth skin bunched into worried wrinkles as she looked at me, she didnt know what to think of it.

"you passed out, are you ok?" she frantically looked around like something was wrong, almost like she knew something i didnt. "i guess im fine, just a little dizzy thats all" i tried to read the look in her eyes but trying to focus on a single point was tricky and i quickly had to close my eyes again.

"you just need some water, you sweated it off with your fever" she said trying to sound confident. in no time she had run to the kitchen and back,now carrying a glass of water. "here" she said, handing it to me. "everything will be fine" she murmered, i wasnt sure if it was to me or to herself. "i hated being babied like a little child"

i took a sip of water but it didnt make me feel any better, in fact it made me feel worse.

i wanted to be cool without having to drink water. i wanted edward to be there at that very second, but he wasn't. Anger started to bubble up inside of me. If only i could leave, just go out into the cool woods, but alice would never allow it. I could never get away with anything when i was being babysat by a vampire with psychic powers.

Why did edward force me to be under watch for everysecond of my life, couldnt i do anything without feeling a pair of golden eyes watching my every move, making sure i wouldn't trip over the smallest twig or stone.

My wish for edward to be next to me vanished. All i wanted was to be alone, all alone, without anyone keeping tabs on me.

It was like baking soda and vineger inside my skull. All the anger and fustration and feeling crappy just made my head pound. This was no ordinary headache, this was a sould ache. I was so tired of edwards overprotective habbits i just needed a break. I had to get out of this house, which alice would forbid, but i would try anyway.

I pulled my arm away from her "im fine" i growled looking away. she looked inquisitively at me for a second, but seemed to push it away as a grumpiness and went to clean the kitchen. With her vampire pace it would be done in seconds.

I had forgotten all about being dizzy and having a fever. All i had in my head was a plan, a lousy one, but still a plan.

"can i go on a walk?" i asked, knowing the answer would be an instant no. "no" alice said dully. she was used to me asking stupid questions by now. It was always 'to dangerous' or she was 'to busy to take me there'. still i was determined.

"can i go for a run?"

"since when do you like running?"

"...uhhh..."

"uh huh thats what i thought"

"can i go on a bike ride?"

"what on that kiddie bike that you haven't ridden since third grade? that thing probably isn't even street legal bella!" she laughed at my innocent expression.

"can i go for a drive?"

"no"

"why"

she hesitated before replying "...because you are burning up"

"really? is that why? because it doesnt seem like my health is what is really bothering you alice! you have been really jumpy. I may seem stupid compared to you, but its been pretty darn obvious and i am not that stupid!" what could be wrong that she was trying to cover up? Just because i am not a vampire and i'm not officially part of her family doesn't mean that i dont deserve to know!

"nothing is wrong bella" she worked to calm her breathing as she spoke in the gentlest tone she could.

"fine!" i got up off the couch, grabbed the bag of frozen peas and wobbled as the blood pounded to my head again. I steadied myself against the wall and headed up the stairs to my room, stomping on each stair and making sure to slam my door extra hard. i heard a picture frame fall off the wall in the hallway, so i hoped that i had made my point.

I hadn't actually expected alice to let me go, or to tell me what was bothering her, but it still did get me a bit mad that she couldnt trust me.

Ok now what? This was as far as my plan went: Make alice think i had given up on leaving the house, then get to my room where she thought i was safe and couldnt leave.

Now what to do next? I flopped down on my bed, scattering a stack of papers that had been laying there. "shoot" i said, I didnt study for that test yet. 'yes,' i thought, 'this is perfect!' a lame boring excuse that she wont want to help with. she will let me alone in my room for the rest of the day and not even bother to check on me... "unless of course she gets another stupid vision of me escaping, but what other choice do i have? i will not be babysat today!"

my bedroom door slowly opened. "you alright in there?" alice asked cautiously, she didnt want to deal with whiney grumpy bella today.

this plan was going better than i could have hoped

"yes im fine" i tried to sound calm, instead of excited like i felt for my upcoming escape.

"do you need anything?"

"no, i feel better now that i drank some water and layed down for a minute" i lied. the water hadn't helped at all.

"oh, ok" i could tell she wasnt really paying to the conversation at all, she was putting forth minimal effort. this was going to be easy.

"I think I just want to stay home and study" i told alice, putting emphasis on the 'stay home' part, "i have a calculus test and i will probably fail if i dont study," It wasn't a total lie, there really was a calculus test the next day, and I was surely going to fail, even if I did the hours of optional practice work that i had been given to help me.

"ok, thats good, do your homework" she said. "i wont interupt you" she turned and closed the door behind her.

she knew that I didn't like being babysat, so it didn't surprise her that I was going to sit around and be boring all day, and she didn't seem to mind. she looked relieved to know that I was staying here, in the house, out of her way, not complaining anymore, and not asking any more ridiculous questions. atleast thats what she thought, but thats all that matters.

'easy as pie' i thought, grinning. she would sit in the downstairs with all the curtains closed to keep out the sunlight, so couldnt even see me if i climbed out my bedroom window and down the tree! I opened my curtains and looked out the window, it wasnt that far of a jump. i unlatched the window locks and pulled open the window.

'shoot that is a far way down' i wasnt scared of heights but i didnt want alice to find me sitting outside with a broken ankle.

she wouldnt like my explanation and she would go into super lockdown mode, i wouldnt be allowed to leave her side, she might even buy me one of those leashed that abusive parents use on their children so they dont have to try to be parents, they can just pretend they have a dog..

i had one try to jump and catch hold of a larger branch, not one that was flimsy and would break. not wanting to stand around all day, i ballanced in the windowsill, counted to three, and leapt into the jumbled branches. time stood still as i looked down at the ground before having a branch smack into my stomach and knocking the wind out of me.

I thudded into the tree with more force than expected. panicking as i couldnt catch my breath, almost wishing i had hit the ground instead. I calmed down and slowly got my footing on a few sturdeir branches, this tree was not as strong as it had looked at first. one branch that i tried to grab hold of was dead and snapped almost sent me flailing to the ground.

finally i jumped the last six or seven feet and felt solid ground again. I ducked behind some bushes and snuck to the backyard. "now what?" i whispered to myself. i wandered aimlessly through a few of my neighbors backyards, startling once because of a motion sensor light that spooked me.

When i got to the corner i saw that there was a bike left propped against a street sign, nobody was around so i decided that it would be my mode of transportation. i casually hopped on the bike and rode around the corner before speeding up to get away from the scene.

the handle bars wobbled, i wasnt good at that steering thing, no wonder _edward_ doesnt trust me to drive or ride a bike. but maybe if i got some practice i would be better at it, not that i would ever get the chance to, it was 'to dangerous' for me.

"oh no" i joked " what will _edward_ say" i spat at his name "two crimes in one day, running away and stealing" i laughed feeling proud of myself. of course i planned on returning the bike later, whenever i came home from wherever i was going. I wanted to be left alone, and if alice had a vision she could find me anywhere. I was vulnerable just biking the streets of town where she could just drive up beside me and take me home.

Well surely i was going to be caught, so i might as well use this chance to make my point. Of all the places i could go, one would really make edward mad. i turned my bike on the next street, heading out out of town. I was going to jacobs house.


	3. Chapter 3

my heartbeat slowed as the initial escape adrenaline wore off. i started to feel my head pound again. i was sweating profusely, but i wasnt sure if that was from the exercise or from my fever. hopefully the cool air would help. the road to jacobs house was long, but it helped that it gently sloped downward so i got to glide for most of it. Otherwise i may not have been able to make it there, i had no endurance.

I was maybe halfway there when i heard the rumble of a truck coming from behind me. I stayed to the side to let it pass, but instead jake's big black truck pulled over infront of me. i skidded the bike to an almost stop. jake jumped out and grabbed the handlebars with one hand and my arm with the other as i fell off the bike, i had never been good at stopping as a kid either.

"whoa there" he said as he stood me up straight. "where are you off to in a hurry?" he questioned. " i havent seen you in forever! i've missed you." he looked me in the eyes and i could feel the sincerity in his words.

" uh actually i came to see you" i said shyly. i knew i shouldnt feel this way about jake, but i still liked him. before i met edward i had met jake when my dad introduced us, my truck used to be his, and we had been childhood friends. he still liked me too, but then i met edward and all my time was spent focusing on edward and my feelings for jake sortof got pushed into a corner of my heart.

Then i saw jake on the beach once, and he accidentally turned into a wolf while i was there, i was talking about edward and the cullens and he got mad. Ever since then we have stayed in touch by talking on the phone, i tried to be just friends, but it was times like these where those feelings i had for really exploded, and it must have showed on my cheeks because he chuckled.

"really?" he seemed pleased, curious to know if i really cared enough to come see him, and wondering what else i might be up to.

"yes really."

"how did you shake off you stalkers, i mean the bloodsuckers, i mean the cullens. woops" he was trying not to insult me/them but i didnt mind, i was so happy to be there with him and not with them.

"I made up a stupid story, mostly i escaped because alice seemed a bit.. off.. today."

" wow it sounds like you are a villian kept prisoner, not the sweet, fun, innocent girl i used to know"

"Its lockdown twentyfour-seven for me, i just needed to come see you, you make me happy" his eyes lit up as i said that, and it wasnt a lie, jake did make me happy, and i was even more happy that the cullens hadnt come to find me yet.

" well maybe you should change that" he said, "you could stay here with me..," he saw the questioning look in my eyes as he continued on with his suggestion, "atleast for a few hours, maybe stay a night or two" i could tell he wanted me to stay as long as possible, and i didnt mind a bit.

he wanted me to think that he was helping me, which he wanted to do also, but really he just wanted me to stay with him, to find my feelings i had for him again. he didnt know that i had never lost them.

"ok, where were you headed?" i asked "can i tag along?"

" of course you can bella, just throw your bike in the back, im headed home."

I went to lift the bike but my arms felt weak and my head felt faint, i got dizzy again. I kept forgetting that underneath my feelings i still felt aweful. my head still hurt and i was still sweating even though i had been standing talking to jake for a few minutes now.

" Bella are you ok?" he was worried only about me as he let the bike fall over on the ground. I leaned against the truck for support. Jake put his arm around my back to help me stand. bella you are burning up! you must have a fever!

"yes.. i know" i panted. "this has been happening all day"

"this is not good,you should not be out here riding a bike, come on," he said as he lifted the bike with one tan muscular arm and tossed it into the back of the truck. He opened the door and lifted me into the passenger seat before running around to his side and grabbing the wheel. "you need to lay down and get some water" he sounded worried but my vision was getting a bit blurry and it was getting hard to stay sitting upright.

I started to slump to the side as he started the truck and hit the gas. I layed my head on his shoulder as he sped down the road, partially because i couldnt physically sit up anylonger i was to dizzy, and partially because i just wanted to.

"bella... Bella... Bella! " i heard someone calling myname, but i couldnt open my eyes or move. "bella!" i heard it again. this was getting annoying. i just wanted to sleep. BELLA! now there were lots of people yelling at me. i jumped up and spun around trying to see whoever was yelling at me. I heard smashing glass and turned again to see that i mirror had fallen from the wall and shattered.

disoriented i tried to find out where i was, but every time i turned something else would fall or break. finally i saw sunlight coming through a window and used it as a way out of that mess. the window was already broken so i just jumped off the couch bed through the window, it was one that went from ceiling to floor. All the while still hearing people screaming my name. "BELLA!" i finally stopped moving and screamed "WHAT?" but all i heard was a loud yelp. I said it again but only a bark came out of my mouth. I panicked.

'oh my god whats wrong with me, is this a dream, where am i, what is going on, where is jake, why am i alone, am i crazy, someone help me!, what do i do, im scared' i sat down and began to cry, my sobs sounding more like whining than anything else. once i got quiet enough i heard the voices in my head again, less loud, more gentle voices than before,

"bella, everything is ok" one voice said

'no its not,' i thought 'i am argueing with myself, nothing is ok'

"bella, you are fine, you are not crazy, i promise" a different voice said

"bella if you stay calm and listen to us you will be fine" said another

'who are they?' i wondered

"we are the pack, duh"

"dont say that stupid, how should she know who we are. its her first time"

"yeah seriously guys give bella a break, its not her fault, none of us thought this would ever happen"

"Bella you are fine i promise, i will be right there, ok?" i recognized jakes voice right away, but after listening to their garbled conversation about me and to me all i could do was sit quietly under the trees i was sitting by and wait to see if he really did come. atleast hearing his voice calmed me down a little.

"bella, dont get scared ok?" as i heard him i saw movement in the bushes far ahead of where i was, my eyesight must be really good today, maybe the air was clearer over here on the reservation. i could smell better to. the moist leaves, the salty air, and a strong dog scent... 'must be the wolfpack boys' i thought, 'i never noticed how they smelled before...' my mind started to work on over drive. putting the puzzle together.

i seemed sick, i woke up hearing voices in my head, heightened senses, ...oh my god... but i wouldnt let myself think what i wanted to think. i kept looking straight ahead, my eyes wouldnt move. i dared myself to look down at my body, to know for sure if i had a crazy brain or if it was true.

jacob came rushing through the underbrush, but he wasnt normal jacob, he was wolf jacob. all my thinking had distracted me. 'oh thank god bella, you are ok!' he said, but he didnt say it, he just thought it. 'why are you that color? thats odd, people usually have the same color fur as they have skin, or hair, but yours is white/blue. wow you are beautiful'

'so it was true. i am a wolfgirl? how? why? what happened? i thought there was no way? i dont understand anything. what do i do?' i worried. he nuzzled against me, sort of like a hug in dog language. 'you'll be fine now, i promise, once you unfaze i will explain more. lets get you to the rest of the pack for now. we have a den out in the middle of the woods that is safe, we will all stay there with you until you change back. i'll take care of you bella, i promise' he gave me a quick lick on the cheek and i stood up to follow him.

we walked at first, but then he picked up the pace and we began to run throught the forest, dodging between trees, jumping rocks and streams. we going faster than i had ever gone, and my eyes were able to focus on each individual leaf as we ran by. my senses were amazing, i could smell every animal, flower, and bug. I could feel each stick as it snapped beneath my paws. i could hear the rustling of the slightest breeze and even taste the salt in the air. i had never felt so amazing, and jake was here to help me. If this was how it felt to be a wolf, then i was happy that this wasnt a dream, because to wake up to being a normal person would ruin my life.

jake slowed and stopped bya huge old willow tree. the branches formed a curtain around the base of the tree. 'welcome to the den bella, you are now part of the pack.'

until then the other wolves had kept out of my thoughts, but now they were all talking again, i could catch only jumbled phrases and other peoples conversations.

" what? why is she that color, thats so different from the rest of us..."

" how is she a wolf sam? she isnt part of the tribe..."

" does anyone else know of a case like this?"

"maybe if she feels attached to a tribe member she could be attached to the tribe in her heart it could change the rules..."

"what do we do about this? she doesnt belong with us..."

"yea doesnt she hang out with those leeches? its dangerous to us..."

" we need to patrol to make sure they dont come to find her, she is their 'property' you know"

"its not like _we_ took her. jake was the one who brought her here today. "

"its nobodys fault, bella isnt a problem..."

"how do you know, maybe its a plan to destroy us from the inside"

"well how would they _make_ her become a wolf, not even we can"

"then lets _make _her not be a wolf"

"we cant dot that either paul"

"why cant we just let her decide if she wants to stay with us?"

"hes right, maybe bella should speak for herself"

"please guys settle down" she could pick out jakes voice even through all the other converstions

"be quiet everyone!" that must be sam, the pack leader, because everyone went silent.

"bella, do you have any idea what could have happened, i mean how are you a wolf?" sam asked me

"she doesnt have any idea or she wouldnt have freaked out earlier" jacob defended

"bella can speak for herself" sam glared at him, making me mad.

"i dont know, i felt sick, then i woke up and had four paws, a tail, and white/blue fur. What else can i tellyou?" i said, exhausted from everything.

"why is she so oddly colored? and whats up with her eyey? they are such a bright blue they almost glow!" "paul shut up" said jake, he didnt want me to feel like a misfit, he didnt want me to worry, but i could tell he was wondering the same thing.

"no that is a good question," sam said

" i bet its because she had blue eyes before, i mean that is the only trait she had that could have made her this color with such bright eyes."jacob butted in.

"that makes a little bit of sense i guess, but she wont blend in to hide very well" said paul, sounding satisfied he went to lay down. "im tired,night bella, and welcome to the pack."

"er... thanks" i stuttered, still a bit in shock.

" i think we are all tired" sam said. i looked up at the sky to see a sparkling array of stars, i had never seen that many. it was amazing.

"lets sleep a while and then we can see how bella feels in the morning, enought worrying for now, off to bed everyone" sams word was law so all the wolves headed to their nests, circular spots of squashed grass lined with leaves moss and whatever else they wanted.

"we didnt exactly know you were coming," jake said as i saw that all the beds were full " but you can share mine for tonight. i'll make sure you dont freak out in the morning he promised" I layed down beside him and he rested his head over my shoulder and against my cheek. i may have protested but he was so warm and soft and i felt safe. I was to tired to think anymore so i closed my eyes and hoped that i wouldnt wake up in jakes truck on the road to his house.


	4. Chapter 4

I kept my eyes closed when i woke, to scared that it would all be a dream. Everything had changed so suddenly, i didnt want it all to end now. I sniffed to see if i could smell jacobs big muddy truck, but all i could smell was damp morning leaves and dogs. I smiled, it wasnt a dream.

Then i thought of the day before, at home with alice, surely she knew i was gone now. 'what will alice think of this? when will they come looking for me, what will they do to me? Why am i a wolf, it cant be. I shouldnt be like this. it doesnt make sense.' i started panicking again, nothing was going how i had planned. All i had wanted was to have some time out of the house, maybe to hang out with jake, but never in my wildest dreams had i asked to be a wolf. I had begged to be made a vampire, it would have been so simple. But now this had happened and nobody could stop it, nothing could change now. This was set in stone. 'what will happen with me and edward'

"dont worry about that bella, Ill take care of you" i startled as he whispered in my head, this mind-talking was a bit tricky to get used to. He pressed his muzzle against my cheek again, I had been so comfortable i had almost forgotten he was there. Finally i opened my eyes, enjoying how much more i could see than before. The other wolves were beginning to stir too, some standing to stretch, others just sniffing the morning air and waiting for a command.

"when will bella change back" paul blurted out. sam answered "whenever she is relaxed, calm, and tries to" 'that cant be, i am really relaxed right now' i thought

" i know," sam said smartly, " we can hear thoughts remember, no privacy. You just havent mastered listening to all of our thoughts yet now have you?" he teased.

'guess not' i replied. he chuckled at my innocence, i didnt know that much, all i knew was that jake was a wolf. If i hadnt known that i probably would have thought i was insane and run far away where they could never have found me.

"ok everyone lets get up" sam suggested, but the others took it more literally, opening their eyes and stretching quickly before assembling in a group beside and behind sam. 'where are we going?' i asked

"home" jake replied

'but.. but.. im still all furry with four legs, wont billy mind?'

"eh.. hes used to it, i went through this to you know, besides the hope is that you will be able to change back if you try"

'how do i try to do that?'

"dont try out here, you you might not be able to change back until you get the technique down..." "yeah jake was instantly a natural at self control..."sam mentioned

'oh so you think i cant do that too? you think im not as good as you?' i challenged, grinning.

"...uh no.. well.. i dont know.. maybe you will be able to, but if you cant i would have to carry you home on my back"

'so you are saying that you arent strong enough to hold me?' i questioned, trying to keep from laughing. i heard the guys all go "ooooooooooh burrrrrn" in my head but tried to push it aside and focus on jake and my conversation. we were all still sitting in a big bunch under the willow tree.

"NO, i could most definitely hold you" he replied confidently "i just wouldnt want you to get scared and fall off"

'jake, ive dealt with vampires and werewolves without being afraid. why would i be scared of falling, i fall all the time' i laughed. he had no idea how clumsy i really was.

"..." i had won "but still wait until we are a little closer to home before you try anything new please"

he had said please... 'ok, i will'

"lets move out!" sam howled and he started out running at a nice pace, the pack stayed together, sometimes splitting for an instant if they were split by a tree, but always staying in the same grouping, i suppose their ranks played a part in where they stood.

We ran for only a few minutes when sam slowed to a walk and turned around to face the group. "ok, now all of you can get back to your own houses, its been a long time for you all to be away from your families." turning to jake, who had stayed by my side, he suggested "how about you go down to the beach and try to see if she will change back, im heading home to see emily but feel free to come by if you need me, but make sure she's on two legs, not four!"

Sam was nice, i decided, and he seemed to have everyone's best interests in mind. He was a good leader for the pack, my pack.

Jake led me around the community of houses and down to the beach. "its windy and cool today, there shouldn't be anyone on the beach" but it sounded like he was hoping that if he said that the beach would be empty. Far ahead i could what looked like ants on the beach, probably a family jsut out for a nice day. They wouldnt like a giant wolf stepping all over their sandcastles.

"hmmm" he thought, he saw the people too. "i guess we are just going to have to stay way down on this end of the beach"

'thats ok' i didnt really care what part of the beach i was on, i was still on four paws, and as much as i liked it i wanted to make sure i could still be a human too.

jake heard my worrying and looked over. "youll be fine, you learn quickly, itll catch on in no time"

he turned so he was facing me, "now," he said, " just relax, think about having two legs, and picture yourself turning back into a person, "its that simple, but it can be really tricky to concentrate that hard, luckily morphing into a wolf is easier but can also be more dangerous. If you get really mad or stressed you can change into a wolf and until you calm down you cant change back, it can be a big pain" he must have seen the worry in my eyes, 'or maybe heard it in my thoughts' i remembered

"its ok," he assured me " everyone was scared the first time, but ive got u, everything will be fine"

'er...' i hesistated, not knowing whether to try or what. i didnt want to look like an idiot, 'but right now you look like a big fluffy dog' i reminded myself

"go for it,"

'... ok..' so i tried. i thought about having two super slow human legs, no long warm fur to protect me from the wind or injuries from branches, no swooshy tail, having fingers and toes, ears that could barely hear and were stuck to my head insteading of swiveling like these did, having a nose that couldnt smell half as well as this nose, having my hair that got in the way and served no purpose, having a mouth that i could talk with even though it was easier to just think it and have jake hear it, ... i thought about everything, and everyting made me want to stay a wolf, but my stomach growled and all i wanted was to sit down and eat a good old slice of pizza so i thouht harder. I had clamped my eyes shut as hard as i could, i was thinking as hard as i could.

"bella." i heard jake say.

'hmm?' i barely replied because i was so focused

"bella you arent a wolf anymore"

'oh' i said, surprised that i actually got something right for once. I opened my eyes and looked down. i was a person again, all my senses were back to any other person's 'normal' but now my 'normal' felt like my wolf 'normal', so it was really depressing to be stuck like a person again.

i looked down at my clothes. I was wearing a white tank top with a blue paw print on the front and a pair of white shorts.

jake laughed at my puzzled expression. "we all have the exact same outfit" he explained. "its the color of your fur, you end up wearing them whenever you morph back to a person, otherwise you wouldnt be wearing anything because since we are so huge our clothesjust rip off." he laughed.

I looked over at him and he was wearing a russet colored tank with a black paw print and a pair of russet shorts.

'oh, ok' atleast there was an explanation for it. i was getting so used to not knowing anything about what was going on. 'anything else i should know about?' i asked.

"not right now, only that you are going to have to eat a heck of a lot more food than you normally do to make up for all that exercise!" he smiled, put his arm aroun my shoulder and led me along the beach toward the houses.

"first i'm stopping by sam's to let him know that everything went smoothly" when we got to sam's house he just opened the door and went straight in, not even bothering to knock. I followed slowly, not wanting to be rude, but jake was already on his way back out of the house by the time i stepped through the doorway. "he's impressed" jake said "he didnt think you would cope as well as you did"

'you boys dont have any faith in me do you?'

"its just that we've never had a she-wolf in the pack before, and we especially havent been expecting someone from off the reservation, nobody has any idea why you are a wolf. I mean someone suggested that... maybe if you feel emotionally attached to someone inthe pack... maybe that could cause way of the tribe to accept you as one of us, and then you could become a wolf...?"

he finished his statement in an almost questioning tone, he was curious. he watched my face carefully, probably trying to guess by my expression whether or not i felt 'emotionally attached' to a pack member, but i knew he just wanted to know if i really liked him.

'maybe it doesnt have to be that,' i tried to sound casual, 'it could be anything i guess...' i trailed off, watching my feet as we walked over the uneven gravel road to jake's house. there were a few akward minutes of silence, neither one of us wanting to be the first one to say something.

As jake began walking through the yard to his house the silence was finally broken by my growling stomach. it was so loud that we both could hear it and he laughed. hearing jake laugh made everything better, it always had. his smile and his laugh had always been the things that i just couldnt resist.

'good thing he cant hear my thoughts now' i smiled to myself. it was better if he didnt know how i felt, it would only cause problems. I wasnt one to always take the easy way out, but this was one thing that i was trying not to let myself think about. i still liked jake, a lot, but i wasnt going to do anything about it. he didnt deserve to have me tell him that i still liked him but that i still wouldnt be with him. it would break his heart, and to see him have his heart broken would _shatter_ mine. I could already feel my heart pulling in two directions, but what i really didnt want was for it to rip right down the center.

"lets get you some food" he smiled, interupting my train of thoughts. he held open the door for me and led me to the kitchen. There was a whole bunch of food in there, everything from chicken barbeque to macaroni and cheese. All the cabinet doors were wide open, too full of bags of chips and cans of soup to close. The fridge was closed, but when jake opened it to grab a drink he had to hold back some apples before they toppled out onto the floor.

"have enough food?" i asked sarcastically.

"if all the guys were over..." he replied "this would all be gone in five minutes after a long night like that." he sounded sad

"they eat you out of house and home if you let them," billy butted in "and if you dont let them then they eat the house" he joked, but i could still hear a bit of seriousness in his voice. "so i guess you've done alright then bella?" he asked, changing the subject to me. i guess jacob had told him about my change already.

"uh, yeah i guess so" i wasnt sure what 'alright' meant. i had no clue what this was supposed to be like, all i knew was what jake told me to do. my stomached growled again, i hadnt eaten since the day before and it had to be around noon by now.

"she did great for her first day" jacob said, getting annoyed, "but we really need to get some food now, so if you dont mind..." he turned to the counter where he grabbed a plate of chicken and a few muffins from the toaster.

"of course, of course, your old dad is in the way again..." billy mumbled as he turned his wheelchair and went back to the room with the tv.

"c'mon and sit," jacob said, pulling out a chair for me to sit. he pushed the overflowing plate toward me, motioning for me to dig in as he went to grab something else for himself.

"no way will i ever eat all this!" i protested, amazed that he thought i could eat that much food.

"you'd be surprised how many calories you burn when you are huge and have four legs." he replied skeptically. " i bet you can finish that easily in ten minutes tops" he challenged

"yeah right," i argued, but my growling stomach disagreed with me...

"what do you know?" jake said, "seven minutes and forty-two seconds" he grinned, obviously pleased at always being right.

all i could do was smile back, what could i say i was just that hungry. id never eaten that much food in my life.

"you full?" he asked. i went to answer, but instead i yawned so i just nodded my head. i hadnt realized how exhausted i was, even after sleeping under the willow in the woods the night before. "you tired?" he grinned again as i nodded again. "ok then bella, its off to bed with you, you can stay in my room or out here on the couch with billy." he looked over at billy as he whooped and yelled at whatever had just happened on the tv. "if you want to get any sleep you should just stay in my room" he suggested, not seeming upset with that at all. all i could do was nod, i didnt mind.

I tried to get up but my muscles didnt want to move. "need some help?" he laughed as i tried to nod but i could barely even keep my eyelids open enough to see him. "ok then" he said "here you go" and with no effort at all he scooped me up, cradling me like a child. i layed my head against his shoulder as he carried me back to his room to let me sleep.

i woke to the noise of people argueing in hushed voices. i knew these voices, there were two people, no... three people, two boys, one girl. the two boys were argueing and the girl jsut seemed to be there for support, blurting out random insults whenever she felt like it. these werent just people, they were jacob and... rosalie? and edward.

EDWARD! oh my gosh i had totally forgotten that the cullens would come looking for me. they wer here, on the reservation, where they werent supposed to be. they didnt know anything about what had happened the day before. they didnt know that i was a new pack member. they wouldnt know either, unless someone told them, they saw me when i had four paws and a tail and recognized me, or they smelled my blood. that is the only way for non-wolves to know if you are a wolf or not.

I kept my eyes closed, trying to focus on what they were saying. they didnt seem to know that i wasnt asleep anymore, they were too focused on their arguement to pay any attention.

"...how the hell did you manage to .." edward was cut off by jake,

"SHHHHHHHHHH!" he warned "she's sleeping!" he said in a hushed tone. i could tell as he looked down at me, i was so comfortable that i didnt realize he still had me in his arms.

"she's MINE!" edward hissed " you shouldnt be worried about her, i should!"

"its not like you OWN her" jake growled "she doesnt belong to anyone"

"i never said she did!"

"but you act like it! did you ever think to ask HER what SHE wants? she chose to come here! its not like i kidnapped her or anything! not that you would know seeing as you weren't there for her anyway!" jake was pushing it. i knew edward and his temper. he wouldnt let jake get smart with him even if jake was right so far i was siding with jake, atleast i knew he couldnt hurt jake as long as i was in his arms.

"dont YOU insult me!" edward threatened "its not like she ever goes to see you anyway!" he was trying to upset jake enough to get him to give up, but i knew jake wouldnt let that happen.

"maybe she would if you let her out of her cell once in a while! you have the poor girl in a prison i swear!" he screamed. 'there was no way i could have actually been asleep through all this yelling', i thought to myself.

"i keep her SAFE!" edward was stuck defending himself now.

"oh, well she looks pretty safe right now in MY arms too" jake said calmly, knowing this would make edward furious. i did feel safe here, even with the screaming fight going on around me. i thought this would be an interesting time to 'wake up'. i shifted a little. "she's waking up now, see what youve done?" he said to edward, like an adult scolding an ignorant child.

"ME?" he screeched. "YOU shouldnt even have her! why would she ever want to stay in your arms when she can be in mine?" 'because hes sweet and warm and nice to me' i answered in my head. jacob was winning this battle.

'is everything ok?' i asked innocently, still keeping my eyes closed as though i was to exhausted to open them.

"ill take care of you bella, dont worry." jake reassured

"YOU will do nothing." edward ordered "i will take bella home now" he said as if he was stating a fact.

"what to her jail? or her home? is there any difference? because she doesnt want to go back to jail right now."

"how would YOU know?" edward taunted

"because she came her to be with ME because she was so sick of being locked up with YOU!" jake yelled. i turned to look at edward, to see his expression, to know if he even cared or not. all i could see was anger.

"come on edward, just get the girl and lets go!" rosalie was getting sick of waiting around.

"oh no he wont!" jacob threatened

"what?" rosalie spat, taken back that he would even look her direction let alone talk to her like that.

"you heard me! he will not take my bella! you arent even allowed here! get out of my house before i tell the tribe leaders and we have your lot all destroyed!" 'the empty threat couldnt scare edward' i thought, it didnt scare edward. he stayed.

I opened my eyes, sat up more, and turned to look at him.

"bella lets go, NOW" edward said.

" dont tell her what to do!" growled jake " why dont you try ASKING bella what she wants?" jake taunted.

now even agrier edward took a deep breath and slowly asked "bella, will you leave this filthy mut and get into the car now?"

"how about a _please_?" jake suggested mockingly

"_please_" edward growled

"since when did we start taking orders from a mut anyway?" rosalie yelled, pulling edward by the arm toward the car. "lets go, she's not worth your time"

Edward walked backwards to the car, never once breaking eye contact with me until he had to close the door behind him as rosalie slammed on the gas.


	5. Chapter 5

all of a sudden all my emotions came crashing down, edward was gone, which was good but would be weird. and now jake was all i had, not that it wasnt enough but my life was all changing so fast and i was scared. i leapt up off his lap, he yelled after me but i couldnt hear what he said, and i sprinted as fast as i could into the woods. I ran and ran until i couldnt breathe and then i slowed in the middle of some thick trees, letting myself break down.

My face streaked with tears full of anger and hate, all I wanted to do was rip him apart, but I knew Jacob would try to get involved; I wouldn't drag my undeserving boy (yes i did just claim jacob as mine) into this unless I had to, Jacob would never have done that to me.

I detested **him**-I wasn't going to use his name, not even in my own thoughts, I wanted to spit just thinking of it-and the burning emotions singed holes in my heart and my mind was walking on the fine line between memories that would send me on an insane unbridled rampage, and ones that would cause me to crumple to the ground, curl in a ball, and cry like a wounded pup.

I couldn't handle it; my fists were balled up -my nails digging into my palms- as I struggled against instinct. I could feel the muscles in my calves tense and quiver and I rokcked back and forth on the balls of my feet, ready to run the pain away.

I was about to run, before I could think I felt steel teeth on the side my neck and cold arms grasped my wrists in their iron grasp. I could feel my captor's fangs as his teeth held my neck so that if I tried to escape, my neck would be shredded in an instant. Now I couldn't run, it was too late.

"But I'm not going to die," I told myself before I could panic any more than was necessary- not that it would be as bad as having my heart broken and forgotten- but still I reminded myself "he will rescue me, I know it. "first I need to know who exactly is attacking me," I thought as I pictured the page in my head; slowing down and thinking through the pages of proper attack/defense that I had read in that self defense book so long ago always seemed to help me clear my mind.

I worked consciously to steady my heaving lungs and tried to calm my pounding heart, "now would not be a good time to panic," I warned myself.

I growled through my teeth as my captor bit a little harder on my neck, interrupting my train of thought. He was still carefully not breaking skin with his razor sharp fangs, and he held both of my wrists under one strong muscular arm, pinching them tight.

I was losing the feeling to my fingers. My growling echoed through the empty forest, the barren trees seemed to laugh in response, their branches clanking lightly in the slight breeze from the sea. There were no birds chattering, I didn't even hear a gull cry out, just the eerie sound of the branches as they mocked me in my helplessness.

The pressure left my neck as he pulled back his head and laughed. This was the most distinctly bone chilling laugh, so beautiful the voice but so malicious at the same time. I was already staying perfectly still but the petrifying fear froze me where I stood as the all too familiar face of James turned to meet my horrified stare.

As he released my wrists I remembered that I needed to breathe., choking on air as my lungs faultered to take in oxygen when my brain was still in a state of shock.

James's face looked as if it was out of one of my less frequent but still terrifying nightmares where Edward comes to save me from him, but decides im not worth the fight. James looked me up and down, a smug smirk flitted on the edges of his lips. He was even more terrifying the second time around, after I was sure that he was gone, a problem that I had scratched off of the danger list ages ago, now coming back to haunt me.

He took a step back, his eyes criticizing me as he circled from one side of me until we were face to face. His deep maroon eyes gave the illusion that his eyes were black, I noticed as he stepped back-"that means thirsty…," i reminded myself as my brain slowly sorted through the jumble of thoughts flying around in my mind. "for my blood."

I stumbled to step backwards, half tripping on the upturned root of tree. My brain-now working a little more up to speed-was telling me to turn and run like a wolf, to atleast put up some effort, but for some reason I couldn't get myself to turn away. The belief that james was really there, the fact that Edward wouldn't come to save me this time, it was hopeless so why try. I was not going to be part of another one of james's little video productions.

His cold voice was full of enjoyment and the taunting tone sent chills down my spine as he played his mind games with me, "I wouldn't want a pretty little girl like you to get hurt now would i?" he laughed, flashing his dagger teeth in a twisted grin as I stared him down, trying to think why he was still pulling off this sharade.

He had to realize that Edward wouldn't come play the knight in shining armor, for all I knew he would come to watch the show. I scrutinized everything about him as I tried to piece together any possible story that could explain how everyone promised that he was destroyed, yet there he stood.

James's dirty blonde hair was pulled back into a pony tail, his face was, of course, just the same as I remembered. His tattered leather jacket was old and rugged from months of travel on rough terrain, and it was open in the front revealing his perfectly sculpted abs. His pants were worn, probably from the friction as he ran at non-human speeds wherever he had been, and catching his prey… I shuddered.

He was circling me now, and I could just barely hear the crunch of leaves and sticks below his feet. He stepped closer, only a small step, but enough that started stumbling backwards again, this time I backed into the trunk of a large tree and used it for support as I lost my balance. James only laughed at my over exaggeration to his small step, as if to say I had nothing to fear from him. He gauged my expressing as I made that realization, that he didn't want to hurt me enough to kill me...yet.

I wasn't just an evening snack, he really was playing more games, waiting for someone to come to find me. Too bad for him I had already kicked Edward out of my life, gone forever, for his entire existence however long that may be. James wouldn't have his fun today, he could torture me all he wanted but still no Edward to the rescue.

He smiled slyly like a fox as I pondered his different options. He surely wouldn't wait around for too long, once he realized Edward wasn't coming he would just kill me-eat me- and then move on to some other adventure, hed find someone who didn't make his games so unbelievably boring for him. James, still smirking, glanced around, awaiting the company that I knew wasn't coming.

"Filthy bloodsucker!" i screamed

"actually my name is james," he said happily, he really was enjoying this too much. "What do you want!" I growled still fighting with the ropes and chains. "you know what I want, don't you bella?" He must have seen the glare I gave him because he laughed again. "well of course you know," he added, "he seems to be aweful fond of you." My teeth were bared and I growled but there was nothing I could do but sit around and wait, or continue to let that bloodsucker get me to lure jake in by talking.

I tried not to be scared, jake would be able to smell if I was scared or hurt. I was going to try to sit down on the ground, but the ropes wouldn't slide down the tree so I had to stay standing. "tired, sweety?" he asked in his almost sarcastic tone. "you're aweful quiet," he noticed. "maybe I should fix that." his voice alone was bone chilling but it was hard not to be scared, or call out as he turned from his pacing and stared me down with his crimson eyes.

It seemed like he got bored and was just looking for some entertainment as he slowly crept towards me, smiling a wicked grin that sent chills down my back. "Is the little girly scared?" he mocked as I pressed my back against the tree to put as much space as possible between me and him. I could feel the ropes rubbing my skin raw as I twisted and pulled with all my strength to get away from him, and the bark on the tree was scratching my back as I tried to twist around.

James slowly inched closer, step by step, his grin widening as he saw the panic in my eyes. He must have been an arms length from me when I kicked at him with my feet, using my hands on the tree to support me as I jumped and kicked with both of my feet. I knew he was fast enough to more than match anything that I could do in human form, especially with my hands tied, but I had to try.

He slammed my feet back against the tree with his arm before I could even blink or realize what was happening. At first my legs were numb, but I knew the back of my calves were cut by the tree bark, because I could feel the warm blood running down the ankles of both feet.

James' reaction was priceless, he stopped in his tracks, and his jaw dropped. "So what have we here?" he snarled. "A little wolf girl? My my, he really should pick his prey more wisely." He tutted. "W-What?" i stammered. I knew that he could tell I was a wolf from the smell of my blood, half animal half human, but I really did not need to be any more confused than I already was.

Why would I be jakes prey? Now the blood was pooling under my feet staining them red. "you honestly didn't think he liked you for your looks, did you? He doesn't understand you, so he found the only way to get you close to him, befriending you. before finishing you off, that is." I was wrong. James didn't want jake, he wanted edward.

Ha. I thought. So jake will find me, kill james, and I can go finish Edward off myself. After our fight yesterday that sounded like a great plan to me, he obviously cared more about himself than he did about me. James was circling me again, but closer this time. Instead of hiding in the shadows about fifteen feet from me he was probably eight feet back.

Unfortunately, half-dog or not I think my blood was luring him in. It wouldn't be much longer before he gave up on trying to get ed to come and would just finish me off himself. My legs stung as the dry air reached my open wounds.

I was glad they were still numb from the impact or I wouldn't be able to control myself like I could, clenching my jaw and refusing to look anywhere but strait ahead. "aren't you going to call for your little boyfriend?" he teased, but I could tell he was getting impatient.

His voice was angrier and he began to pace more quickly than before. I was exhausted, just wanting this whole charade to be over. It was well into the early morning, I could tell because the sky was lighter, and I hadnt slept at all, but I wasn't going to listen to james because if I called out jake would surely try to save me and he may get hurt too.

"you will listen to me!" he yelled in my ear, he grabbed my hair and pulled my head back. All I could see was the grey-black sky and the tops of the trees. I growled as he pulled harder and harder, "surely my neck will snap soon" i thought.

He took his free hand and grabbed the other side of my neck, digging his fingers into my throat. "call for him!" he ordered. i yelped but quickly silenced my voice. i wouldn't, couldn't, call out. i coulnt let him get hurt.

James tightened his grasp on my neck even more. "jake!" I screamed. "Jacob help!" james slammed his hand over my mouth, throwing the back of my head against the tree. I bit down hard on my tongue, I could taste the blood, im sure james could smell it too.

I swallowed hard, "not him you mut! Edward! Call for Edward!" he ordered tightening his fingers again, but before I could do anything james was on the ground.


	6. Chapter 6

I saw a blur of russet fur flash by as Jake caught James by the throat, dragging him off of me and onto the ground. The world worked in slow motion as the two predators tumbled on the ground and rolled to a thud, showering me with leaves and branches raining down from the tree that they fell against.

'NO! Jake don't!' but my pleading screams did no good. James, startled, scrambled up and tried to shake off the surprise attack. As James turned to run Jake raised his head with hatred in his eyes and bit down hard on his ankle. I had thought vampires were invincible until I heard the bones in his ankle crack and shatter.

I cringed at the awful screech he let out, but was unable to look away. Jake drug James back to the ground and stood with his front paws on his chest. James writhed under the pressure from Jake, a giant heavy wolf, pressing him into the ground. He couldn't fight back, his strength was gone, the surprise had left him unprepared to fight a wolf, the only way he could win would be to climb a tree and he couldn't do that with a broken ankle.

Jake let out one last vicious growl before stepping back, taking the pressure off of James' lungs, and crouching protectively between me and him. He backed up towards me, never taking his eyes off James until he turned and looked into my eyes, I could see the fear he had for me but more than that, I could see the love he felt.

James stirred and Jacob focused his eyes back on him, growling a warning. 'Why is he worried when James can't run?' I wondered. But Jake wasn't looking at James anymore; he was looking up into the treetops.

'What is it Jake?' I whispered. He didn't have time to answer as Rosalie leapt through the canopy and landed nimbly, dropping to a protective crouch over the newly injured James.

"ROSALIE!" I was furious. 'How could she do this?' I wondered, but when I thought about it she never had liked me. I just had never imagined one of the Cullen's fighting against me right now. I didn't want to see them ever again, especially not be tied up and stuck watching them fight my Jake. At least Rosalie was alone and Jake wasn't outnumbered. 'It could be worse' I reminded myself.

Jake's eyes were full of fear as he glanced back again. He was fast, he could easily outrun her if he had any trouble, but I was still stuck to the tree and he didn't have time to untie me without putting both of us in more danger, plus with his huge paws, claws, and jaws he would probably hurt me trying to get me loose.

"Hello Bella" Rosalie replied slyly. "I haven't seen you in a while" she joked. "I'll be so glad to finally be rid of you," she smirked "you see, when Edward told me that Alice's visions started to blur while we were on the hunting trip I knew something was odd..." 'So that's what was bothering Alice' I thought

"So naturally we came home early to find Alice confused and you gone. Of course Edward immediately thought that that filthy mutt had come and taken you away. Immediately I called my friend here..." she gestured to James, "and we came up with a plan to 'remove the nuisance'.

You have destroyed my family, you see. You being here has split us up; Edward never spends any time at home. When James had you in the old dance studio I had hoped that he would have finished you off... but he had to leave to save him... So I helped him escape and we stayed in touch... Just in case I was in need of his services again"

"Rosalie you don't have to do this, don't hurt my Jake! It's not him you want anyway!"

"Well I wouldn't have bothered if I had to track him down, but since he's already here..." before she could finish her sentence Jake leapt into the air, aiming for her face. Rosalie stood and threw him to the side with her hand, like swatting away a pesky fly. She crept closer to me, her fangs bared.

Jake shook off the blow and caught her from behind, barreling his shoulder under her legs to knock her off her feet, but she was too fast and leapt over him. Digging his claws into the ground he skidded to a halt only feet from the tree I was tied to, throwing sticks and dirt into my face. I gasped and coughed violently as dirt got into my mouth and lungs.

Jake turned his head to see if I was ok, and in that split second, Rosalie leapt onto his shoulders with her arms wrapped around his neck, her fingers tangled in his russet fur. She hung on as he whipped side to side, trying to shake her loose before she could tighten her grasp and strangle him.

I screamed as Rosalie's arms slipped and Jake threw her over his head, sending her straight toward me. I couldn't move, not that I would have had time to anyway. She caught a hold of the branches above me, leaping down to stand with her face only inches from mine.

Growling Jake bit her thigh, dragging her back toward him and away from me. He held tight, clamping his jaws down harder, she fell, grabbing a tree root to try to fight back as he shook her back and forth like a dog with a chew toy. Rosalie tried to kick with her other leg, but it was useless, the blows did nothing.

Getting desperate, Rosalie tried to drag herself toward the root but because Jake had his feet firmly planted in the ground all she managed to do was rip her leg tissue and bone. I heard a crack, screamed in fear that I was watching a murder take place, but Jake let go of her, watching her leg flop uselessly to the ground. She stood wobbly on her good leg and hissed, her blonde hair in a mess around her face.

No longer could I picture her as a beautiful, powerful, indestructible creature. Jake had won; she was as helpless as a baby. If he wanted to, Jake could have finished her off right there, but he knew I didn't want him to kill. That's why James lay with a broken ankle on the floor, he wouldn't kill him but I didn't know what he would do with them. With Rosalie having a broken leg she couldn't possibly help James to leave the site of the attack and go home, or wherever he belonged… if he belonged anywhere.

'Jake?' I asked as he turned to me 'What now?' I knew he couldn't leave his wolf form because as soon as he was human Rosalie and James would easily beat him, even with their broken extremities to slow them down. 'What are you going to do with them?' I pressed again. Jakes eyes were unfocused; he seemed to be lost in thought. 'Jake!' I said sternly.

He snapped out of the trance-like state and looked me in the eyes as if to say "don't worry I have this under control," but there was a flash in his expression that told me he wasn't so sure exactly what he was doing.

Jake turned back to the wounded vampires, taking a step closer before quickly returning to me to press his muzzle against my shoulder for a second and give me a quick lap on the cheek, 'it's like he's saying goodbye' I thought, unsure what he was doing because when I wasn't a wolf I couldn't hear his thoughts, but how useful that would be!

He paced back to Rosalie, growling and baring his teeth threateningly as she hissed and spat at him to get back. He nodded his head in James' direction, telling her to get him up. He waited impatiently as Rosalie limped over to James, half hopping and half dragging her leg,

I could tell she was in pain. 'Serves her right for messing with my Jake' I murmured. I saw Jake's ears tilt in my direction as he heard my voice, but his focus stayed on Rosalie who was struggling to get James to stand.

The tree trunks began to swirl and darkness closed over my now blurry vision.

I barely had time to think before I passed out, still tied to the tree in the middle of the woods.


	7. Chapter 7

My ears were ringing, ringing, ringing. There were spots of light dancing about in my eyes, even though I had them clamped shut as tightly as I could keep them. Fear gripped at my stomach as I felt a cold hand on my shoulder and I snapped out of the black-out into the dimly lit forest screaming.

The trees had long shadows and the eerie orange glow of the setting sun helped add to the fear factor.

I shuddered and closed my eyes as the cold hand touched my shoulder again. The simple touch sent waves of pain through my back and legs. I tried to shake it off, but the feeling wouldn't pass.

"Bella!" someone growled. "Bella! Calm down!" The voice ordered as I tried to thrash against my restraints. I didn't even remember when I had been bound to the tree with this chain and rope; I had been so out of it that I probably had gone in and out of consciousness earlier too, not remembering half of what happened through the pain shooting up my body from my calves. James must tied me up before Jacob arrived because that's why Jake couldn't save me right away and now it was too late.

"STOP IT!" Edward screeched more clearly and loudly than before, I could hear him even through my flailing attempts to shake off the pain. I froze. 'What happened? Why is he here? Where is Jake?…' my was a jumble of twisted thoughts about what had happened and what Edward was going to do.

"Bella," Edward began, "are you ok?" I opened my eyes and glared at him but didn't give him the satisfaction of a full answer. He looked me up and down and saw my torn calves and my hair laden with twigs and dirt. "I'm getting you down" he told me as he walked around the side of me to tackle the restraints that bound me.

With one quick blow he smashed the chain in two and the rope snapped. With that gone there was nothing to hold me up, and I collapsed, exhausted, to the forest floor.

As I felt my calves peel back from the tree bark I tried to scream but the pain overwhelmed me and I was speechless. Part of the skin remained attached to the tree, tearing off as I fell, but my legs were getting numb with pain. After a few seconds of laying face-down in the dirt the lower half of my body went numb so I was able to roll over. I tried to keep my calves from laying against the ground but it was pointless so I quickly gave up.

Edward stood, his face confused, still leaning against the tree. He was looking at me with an odd expression. "Bella…why…how.." he started his sentence but didn't seem to know how to continue, and stopped abruptly before he could finish it. "Here comes company" he growled. Looking up from me out into the now-darkening woods.

I couldn't hear anything at first, but then heavy paw steps, getting closer and faster, from behind me. I tried to sit up and turn to see if it was Jake but exhaustion had overtaken me and I had to close my eyes again.

The paw steps got closer, finally skidding to a halt in the clearing where I was laying. I heard Edward let out a vicious hiss, getting a responding growl from… (I opened my eyes for a second, using all the energy I could to stretch my neck and look behind me without sitting up) …I saw russet fur, so yes it was Jake that had come back. I wanted to yell out, to tell Edward to get away from Jake, but I couldn't get myself to open my mouth.

"Stay back" Edward growled. "What do you want?" he asked. Jake yelped and barked at him as to say 'you cant understand me unless I change back, but I don't trust you!'

Edward stepped back toward the tree, taking a neutral stance. "fine…" he said.

Jake barked again.

"I promise I wont attack you…" Edward mumbled reluctantly "UNLESS of course it is necessary" he muttered

Jake gave him a stern glance, then looked at me, seeming to weigh the danger but stepped back and chose to take his chances. In just a few seconds Jake was running toward me. Human Jake, not wolf Jake, the footsteps were to light to be a wolf.

"STOP!" Edward yelled, shoving Jake back with a thump. "Don't." Edward told him.

"What are you doing?" Jacob yelled. "First you try to take her away from me, to take her back to her 'prison' home, and now you wont even let me help her? You know very well you cant help her with all that blood, you'll hurt her. Please let me help her!"

"Why should you be the one to help her, its your fault" Edward said, disgusted.

"How is this my fault? She wouldn't have run into the woods if it weren't for you and your sister! By the way YOUR sister brought James here! If it weren't for you none of this would have happened!"

"I know they were here." Edward stated plainly. "I can smell them too. I did not tell my sister what to do, I cannot control what she does. I do not approve of her actions, nor does the rest of my family."

"Didn't your little pixie girl have any visions of Rosalie doing this? And how do I know, if you can smell them that well, that you can handle the blood?"

"Alice? Alice has had some… trouble… with her visions lately." he stated simply.

"And what about you?" Jake asked.

"Me?" Edward asked, then remembering the second part of Jakes previous question. "Oh, well her blood isn't half as tempting as before when it's mixed with dog blood!" he spat at Jake.

"So now you know," Jake said "But this isn't the time to talk about it" he warned. Jake was more worried about me than he was about being mean to Edward, he was willing to make a temporary truce to get me safe. He would do whatever it took.

"I agree" Edward murmured. Both boys seemingly agreeing to an unspoken truce to get me safe above all else. "I'll take her to Carlisle" Edward stated.

"WE will take her to Carlisle" Jake reminded.

"Fine" Edward agreed through gritted teeth. "But I will carry her, I'm faster on two legs, and you cant carry her on four legs."

"Ok," Jake reluctantly replied. "Its for the best" he whispered to me.

As Edward scooped me up the numbness disappeared and pain shot up and down my legs and back. I didn't have time to scream before the world went black.


	8. Chapter 8

I woke up completely disoriented in dark silence. I couldn't see or hear anything, I panicked. My breathing heightened and my heart racing. I tried to tear at the sticky pads that were stuck to my face, and to pull the needle from my arm, but two pairs of hands stopped me, one icy cold and one burning hot. Edward and Jake. "Stop" they ordered in unison, seeming very practiced at holding me still.

I opened my eyes again, someone had turned on a lamp and I could now see that I was in a hospital- like room. I was in a hospital bed with all the machines hooked to me, but the walls were familiar. Edwards house. The boys had gotten me to Carlisle in time.

"Look she's waking up" I hear Alice chirp from across the room.

"oh good," jasper murmured.

"finally!" Esme sighed, sounding quite relieved.

"see what did I tell you boys! Right on time too, those drugs worked just perfectly and she's healing quite rapidly too. (Because of her new 'talent' it would seem)" he added.

"That's great!" Alice scurried over to stand beside me. "I missed you Bella!" she squealed, grasping me in an awkward but tight hug while I still lay on the bed a little disoriented.

"Alice! Calm down! The poor girl has been in a coma for a week for goodness sakes let her rest!" Esme scolded.

"Glad to see you finally waking up Bella" Emmet said quietly as he walked down the staircase and over to my bedside. "You should feel privileged Bella," Carlisle said, "this is the first we've seen Emmet out of his bedroom in a week!"

"PRIVELEDGED! What that his girlfriend tried to kill her! Yeah that's a real priveledge!" Jacob lost his temper and started screaming in everyone's faces for them putting me in danger. He was going to lose control, I knew it.

"No…." I tried to say but my voice was so weak that nobody heard it over Jakes screaming. Edward grabbed him by the collar and shoved him against the wall, shaking some pictures onto the floor.

"Don't you DARE blame my family!" Edward growled viciously.

Jake struggled to fight back against Edward's strength but it was no use, he was only getting angrier. If he morphed in their house, the cullens would rip him to bits. "Jake No!" I said feebly, but again nobody heard me, they were too wrapped up in the drama going on around me to notice me talking.

My face got red hot. Nobody was listening! "Stop it" I said louder, finally finding my voice. "Edward don't! Jake stop!" I was almost yelling now. "Everybody stop!" I screamed but to no avail.

Without warning I felt the sticky pads rip off of my face and the needle pull from my arm. I could no longer feel the bed beneath my back, but instead a fuzzy blanked of long white/blue fur cushioned under my belly as I lay on the floor confused for a second. Once I got my bearings I stood and howled as loud of a howl as I could manage. It hurt my ears so I knew everyone had heard it. Lowering my eyes, I saw Edward release Jake from his restraint against the wall and turn to me. Everyone turned toward me.

In an instant the Cullens lunged at me and in a flash of white fur and loud yells I was now being shaken awake by Jake.

I was still cuddled in his arms, safe, in his room. I had never run into the woods, never seen James or Rosalie, and I wasn't injured and in a coma.

My calves burned from the more than usual amount of exercise I had done the night before, and my arms were sore from being in the same position for hours, but there was no real damage done. It was all just another night mare, but this time I got to wake up to warm happy Jake instead of cold obsessive Edward.

"Bella, breakfast is ready" Jake reminded me again, jostling me out of my thoughtfulness. I could now feel my stomach aching for food. "Edward stopped by" Jake mentioned, "but he took one look in the window, saw you with me, and left. Didn't even come to see why you were here, I suppose he figured you didn't like him anymore" Jake trailed off.

I smiled. Everything was back to normal, well my normal at least, and I had Jake to protect me so it was going to be ok.

The end.

Ok so maybe you thought it was confusing and the ending was too sudden and brief or you thought it was stupid, but it was a neat way for me to end this section of my larger story(that I have in my head) without dragging it out and making it boring. Jacob winsJ end of story. And should I say "and they live happily ever after" or should I think about it and write another section. I'm not sure, I haven't decided yet, but for now please review if you can.


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